Abstract
The electronic structure of quaternary natural minerals PbBi2Te2S2 (aleksite), Pb2Bi2Te2S3 (saddlebackite), and PbBi4Te4S3 (C phase) has been theoretically studied. These compounds have a layered structure: aleksite and saddlebackite are formed by seven- and nine-layer blocks, respectively, and C phase consists of five- and seven-layer blocks separated by van der Waals gaps. It has been shown that all studied materials are three-dimensional topological insulators with a wide band gap in the electronic spectrum and have a high spin polarization. For these reasons, they are promising for applications.
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Original Russian Text © I.V. Silkin, T.V. Menshchikova, M.M. Otrokov, S.V. Eremeev, Yu.M. Koroteev, M.G. Vergniory, V.M. Kuznetsov, E.V. Chulkov, 2012, published in Pis’ma v Zhurnal Eksperimental’noi i Teoreticheskoi Fiziki, 2012, Vol. 96, No. 5, pp. 352–356.
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Silkin, I.V., Menshchikova, T.V., Otrokov, M.M. et al. Natural sulfur-containing minerals as topological insulators with a wide band gap. Jetp Lett. 96, 322–325 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0021364012170158
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0021364012170158